Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings

Terrelle Pryor was dejected Saturday after Ohio State lost to Penn State 13-6, which might explain why offensive quality-control coach Nick Siciliano accompanied the freshman quarterback to postgame interviews.

Terrelle Pryor was dejected Saturday after Ohio State lost to Penn State 13-6, which might explain why offensive quality-control coach Nick Siciliano accompanied the freshman quarterback to postgame interviews.

Siciliano sat next to Pryor and repeatedly patted him on the back and even interjected after one question that the loss wasn't Pryor's fault. Although Pryor's gloom was evident -- "I've never faced adversity like this before," he said -- it was the first time the team's beat reporters could remember a player being given this kind of treatment after a game.

Coaches have demonstrated their sensitivity to the news media's treatment of Pryor in at least one other way. He has not been made available for any of the media-luncheon or after-practice interview sessions since being named the starting quarterback after the game against Southern California on Sept. 13.

Crew coach Sigi Schmid's contract will expire one month from today. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has placed him on a short list of candidates for a Major League Soccer expansion team there, and given the job he has done rebuilding the Crew, it seems he would top that list if he becomes available.

Insiders say Schmid is asking to become one of the higher-paid coaches in MLS but that he doesn't want to leave Columbus. There was speculation when he first came from Los Angeles that this was an interim stop, but they say he has grown to love the city, the team he built and the fans who support it.

In the midst of a season in which the Crew won the Supporters Shield for having the best regular-season record in MLS, Schmid's contract impasse is rapidly becoming an embarrassment.

Some veteran players in the Blue Jackets' locker room are privately wondering why rookie forwards Derick Brassard and Jake Voracek aren't getting more playing time. Although the team's recent offensive woes have become a source of consternation, Brassard and Voracek arguably have been the best offensive players on the ice. Yet entering a game last night at Colorado, Brassard was seventh and Voracek 11th in ice time for forwards.

Coach Ken Hitchcock consistently has maintained that he doesn't want to put his young players in situations where it is hard for them to succeed.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno said the week off will give him time to have doctors examine his bothersome hip and noted that if surgery is required, he will have it done after the season so he can "get on the road and recruit." There would seem to be a message there, that maybe the 81-year-old coach plans to return for yet another season.

Former Cleveland Indian CC Sabathia will be the prize of baseball's upcoming free-agent market, and speculation already has begun on what will be the deciding factor.

Some baseball people expect him to go where the grass and his bank account are greenest, making the New York Yankees the favorites. But Doug Mientkiewicz, a former Yankee, told USA Today in September that Sabathia said he wouldn't go to New York.

Sabathia is looking to build a house near Los Angeles, so some believe he might like to sign with a team there, preferably in the National League, where he could hit. It's unclear whether the Dodgers would go after Sabathia if they intend to re-sign Manny Ramirez, and the Angels might not be interested in paying big bucks to Sabathia on top of what they already owe first baseman Mark Teixeira.

At this point, none of the talk concerns the possibility of Sabathia returning to Cleveland.

Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage's terse, 29-second comment on tight end Kellen Winslow's staph infection gave the impression that he had been told to end to the controversy by team owner Randy Lerner.

Savage's repeated hints that Winslow might have been suffering from more than a staph infection fueled speculation that the tight end may have an embarrassing ailment.

"If there's going to be disclosure, there's got to be full disclosure; we were trying to do the right thing by him and his family," Savage said Sunday night.

While the World Series was awaiting clear weather, rumors of a possible Indians deal for Kansas City outfielder Mark Teahen came and went.

Cleveland supposedly was interested in Teahen as a third baseman. He played there in 2005 and 2006 but was moved to right field in 2007 to make room for No. 1 draft pick Alex Gordon. Sources on both sides supposedly confirmed the rumor -- the Royals were believed to be interested in a center fielder, and the Tribe could have offered Ben Francisco, Franklin Gutierrez or Trevor Crowe.

But as soon as the rumors started swirling, Royals general manager Dayton Moore quashed them.

"It's unbelievable," he told The Kansas City Star. "I don't doubt that somebody said that, but that somebody lied. (Indians general manager) Mark Shapiro will tell you the same thing."

The Miami Heat finally bit the bullet and picked up the third-year option on former Ohio State player Daequan Cook's contract just before the deadline this week, guaranteeing he will make close to $1.4 million next season. Had the Heat not extended the contract, Cook would have been become a free agent next summer.

The decision seems to indicate a fair amount of uncertainty about Cook. He had an inconsistent rookie season and entered training camp fighting for a role in what is expected to be a nine-man rotation. His sporadic play continued through the exhibition season, when he averaged 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in less than 22 minutes per game as Dwyane Wade's backup.

Cook was drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 22 overall pick in 2007 and was acquired by the Heat in a draft-night trade to be the team's long-range shooter. He set team rookie records for three-pointers made and attempted last season but shot only 34 percent from the field and 30 percent on three-pointers during training camp.

General manager Andrew Friedman hasn't made many mistakes in building the Tampa Bay Rays into American League champions, but one he readily admits to is the loss of Josh Hamilton to the Cincinnati Reds in the Rule V draft two years ago.

Then-Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron grew up in the same part of North Carolina as Hamilton and had a long relationship with him, and he believed he could help Hamilton get past drug and alcohol problems.

Inactive from 2003 to 2005 because of rehabilitation, Hamilton played only 15 minor-league games in 2006 before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. That led the Rays to leave him off the 40-man roster.

"It wasn't a matter of whether we thought he would come back," Friedman said. "We just never thought he would be able to come back that quickly. We certainly didn't think any club would take him in the draft knowing they'd have to keep him on the roster for the whole season."

The Reds did, of course, and he had a terrific season in 2007. Then they traded him to Texas for pitcher Edinson Volquez, and Hamilton had an outstanding 2008 season for the Rangers, hitting .304 with 32 home runs and an AL-leading 130 RBI.

Even though it's possible that Hamilton might never have escaped his demons had he stayed in Tampa Bay, dreams of a Rays outfield of Hamilton, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford linger.